Shielded
by Helheim66
Summary: There was so much blood...too much. And she couldn't fix it, not this time.


Jemma quickly threw herself to the ground as the sound of the shot rang through the room. Skye had told her a while ago, from experience, that it took a good few seconds for the pain to register, that there were a few moments of shock before the surge of hot pain through the area of the wound.

But it was more than a few seconds before she opened her eyes, no pain to be felt. She sighed in relief as she laid on the floor, glad to be alive, May's distance voice radioing Coulson that the threat had been neutralised, that they were safe.

"Thank god…" She smiled, brushing her hair away from her face.

But dropping her arm to the side, she realised that there was someone lying beside her, obviously also hiding.

"Fitz?" She asked quietly with a small smile, shaking his arm to make sure that he was okay too. She felt bad for the argument they'd gotten in minutes before the shot was heard.

When she didn't get an answer, Simmons started to panic, as she lifted herself up onto her knees, "Leo? Hello?" She asked,

His small reply was hardly a groan, a slight, pained sigh. His head turned towards Simmons, and she could see that he had tears in his eyes.

_The shot hadn't hit her because there was something in the way…_

Her eyes went blurry. He had to be okay, he was a few minutes ago…

"Je…mma…" he coughed wheezily, a few specks of blood staining his lips, "I…I…"

_Just breathe, tell him it's okay…one of you needs to believe that…_

"Shh, shh, don't worry, okay? Everything is going to be alright…it's going to be fine…" Jemma repeated over and over as she tried to find the wound. "Just stay awake, okay? Look at me, Leo."

It scared her how pale he was, and how his eyes were so unfocused and tear-filled.

"How can I help? Simmons?" Jemma jumped, as she hadn't heard May come in, but was glad that there was someone there who could help her.

"Get the Med-team, now!" She said frantically, carefully removing Fitz's cardigan to try and find the wound.

She almost fainted with fear as she saw the large, dark patch on his chest.

_He'd been lying on his front…so much blood…too much…_

Simmons felt sick as she heard May call for the Med-team.

_It was too late...too late..._

"Stay with me, Leo, please…!"

"J-Jemma, I…I…" Simmons' hands shook as she realised that he was choking on the blood in his lungs, but there was nothing that she could do.

_Why had she pushed him into working in the field?_

"Don't speak, Leo, it-it's okay, the Med-team is coming, you'll…you'll be fine, alright?"

"I'm…I'm s-sorry that I… been useless," -Simmons flinched at every hacking cough- "J-Jem, I-I don't blame you…for leaving m-."

Jemma suddenly cut him off by swooping down and kissing him. It was the worst possible scenario that she ever could have imagined, but she needed him to know…to know…

She bit her lip, "I love you Fitz…I'm so sorry…I'm sorry…"

"L-love you…Jem-"

_Breathe…_

She could do nothing but watch as her best friend in the entire world choke on his own breaths, hands squeezing hers tightly, blood still trickling down from the corner of his mouth.

"Ah!" She winced as another jolt of pain obviously shot through him, and there was nothing that she could do but press his crumpled up cardigan against the wound.

_Breathe…_

She felt as though she might throw up from guilt and grief as he smiled at her one more time, with bloodstained teeth.

"Th-thank you…for being b-beside me…the whole…the…the…"

"The whole damn time…" She whispered brokenly, hot tears trailing down her cheeks and dripping down.

_Breathe…_

Simmons choked out a heartbroken sob as his eyes slowly slipped closed and he went limp and still, cold hands still held in hers. "No…no!" she cried, "Leo, please, please don't do this! Come back! C-come back…please…"

It took her a while for her eyes to clear, to notice that she was crying in May's arms, looking at an empty floor where her dead best friend no longer lay.

She looked up and saw Trip and Coulson comforting Skye, although it didn't look like either of them weren't moments away from breaking down.

"Where…where is he?" She tearfully asked May, clutching her shirt like a lifeline. "They c-can…bring him back, like…like Coulson and…and S-Skye?"

She didn't need any more conformation than May's distraught expression to succumb to sobs again.

"It's my fault, it's all my fault!" She sobbed, "I shouldn't have…shouldn't have left him…I was being selfish…and now…"

_He'd saved her again, but she couldn't return the favour this time._

* * *

><p><strong>*Peeks out from under desk* Please don't kill me! I'm sorry, I just...I literally have no idea. I'm sorry :(<strong>

**(Btw I obviously know that nothing was actually Simmons' fault, it's just survivor's guilt...although I am pretty mad at her for leaving Fitz, I get why she did it.)**


End file.
